Special Screenings

Movie of the Week: The Rocky Ho-ho-horror Picture Show

Here it is Christmastime, and not a single Christmas movie is stirring here in Special Screeningsland. No It's a Wonderful Life, no Scrooged, no nothin'. It seems sadly appropriate for Christmas 2006, a year many of us will be damn glad to see in the rear-view mirror. But then—like that old, hard-partying pal from high school, the one who still occasionally calls too late on Saturday night asking if you wanna do somethin'—who should appear in our inbox but The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Why spend Saturday night at home, watching various sitcoms butcher A Christmas Carol, when you can dig your fishnets out of the back of your closet, head down to the Queen Mary and do the "Time Warp" one more time? Maybe it's been a long time, and you'd feel kinda silly getting all tarted-up again for a night of the ol' Brad and Janet. But with Rocky Horror, feeling silly (well, a sexy kinda silly) is the whole point. You say you're fat? You'd probably make a fine Eddie. You're old and bald? Hey, they can never have too many Riff-Raffs. Hell, if you've got a six-inch scar across your forehead, you'll fit right in. All are welcome. Attending a church service a few years back, I was struck by how much it resembled the rituals of Rocky Horror: light a candle, sing along, make a jump to the left . . . Rocky Horror has served as a kind of glam-rock holy mass for generations of American castoffs, with a sweet transvestite preaching the holy writ: don't dream it; be it. This screening certainly isn't a celebration of the Christmas spirit as Pat O'Reilly would define it, but like any church, it is a place where all the lonely people come together to sing of their wish for a more beautiful tomorrow. Rose-tint my world, save me from my trouble and pain. God bless us, every one. Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach, (562) 694-4411 or (562) 235-8053; www.midnightinsanity.com. Sat. Band, 11:30 p.m.; screening, midnight. $8 tickets go on sale at 10:30 p.m.

Mail your press releases (and a videotape, if available) to Special Screenings, OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701-7417. Or send e-mail to gregstacy@earthlink.net. All materials must be received at least two weeks before the screening. Visit Greg's website at www.gregstacy.wordpress.com.